Entertainment

Verizon Settles With FCC, Must Allow Third-Party Tethering

Verizon Wireless must pay $1.25 million to the FCC as part of a settlement with the Federal Communications Commission, the FCC announced Tuesday. The company has also begun allowing users on a metered data plan to tether their mobile devices using any app and at no extra charge.

The moves come as part of a settlement to end an investigation into the company's compliance with rules surrounding a certain band of spectrum.

The company has been under the FCC's microscope for potentially violating the open-access rules of the "C Block" spectrum, which the company uses for its 4G LTE mobile data service.

Companies offering services on C Block, to which Verizon Wireless bought the license in 2008 for $9.4 billion, “shall not deny, limit, or restrict the ability of their customers to use the devices and applications of their choice" per FCC rules.

The FCC launched its investigation of Verizon Wireless after it received a report from Free Press in 2011 that Verizon Wireless successfully petitioned Google to remove third-party mobile tethering apps from the Android Market (now called Google Play) — a potential violation of the C Block rules.

Meanwhile, Verizon Wireless continued to offer mobile tethering to subscribers through a proprietary app for an extra monthly fee. Verizon Wireless has previously argued that customers who tethered their laptop or other device often ate up more data than other customers, costing the company more than those only using unlimited data on their phones. However, the company required all users of mobile data, unlimited and metered alike, to pay an additional fee for tethering.

“Today’s action demonstrates that compliance with FCC obligations is not optional," said FCC Chairman Julius Genachowski in a statement. "The open device and application obligations were core conditions when Verizon purchased the C-block spectrum. The massive innovation and investment fueled by the Internet have been driven by consumer choice in both devices and applications. The steps taken today will not only protect consumer choice, but defend certainty for innovators to continue to deliver new services and apps without fear of being blocked.”

Verizon Wireless is currently phasing out its unlimited data offerings for users buying a phone subsidized by the company.

"We have made clear to our customers that when using our services, they can go where they want and do what they want on the Internet, using the lawful applications and devices of their choice," said a Verizon Wireless spokesperson. "Verizon Wireless has always allowed its customers to use the lawful applications of their choice on its networks, and it did not block its customers from using third-party tethering applications. This consent decree puts behind us concerns related to an employee’s communication with an app store operator about tethering applications, and allows us to focus on serving our customers."

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